Monthly Archives: February 2016

God’s blessings and comfort to dear Sandy, who lost her husband so unexpectedly yesterday. We’ll miss him so much.

Here we have a beautiful collection of Beutron buttons from the early 1950’s. ‘ “Light-as-a-feather” Plastic Buttons plated with real gold and silver’ as claimed in this advert from the Australian Women’s Weekly. The directly above the emerald green example is an illustration of the same button.

Today I popped out to Yarra Glen for a look in one of the antique stores. As well as 4 complete ‘Elegant’ and ‘Lastest Fashion’ generic large cards of buttons (hey.. I did show restraint..I could have purchased more), I found a nice Embassy card and 2 Beutron cards. In the process I solved a mystery.

I have already shown the below advert for ‘English’ Beutron Wash Buttons from 1946.

Published Daily Mercury 11th November 1946.

This puzzled me as in the 1950s G.Herring stated that ” Beutron buttons were originally manufactured only in Australia”. This appears to have been true only after 1939 when G. Herring (Aust) Pty Ltd was listed. These buttons may then date from the 1930s. I’m still not sure about the above advert! Was it an error, or were G.Herring still importing?

The black ‘Beutron Originals’ are glass (and therefore imported). Below are some other ‘Originals’; the green button is about 28mm diametre, but quite light so it is probably metal-coated plastic, dating from c.1952 as per the advert from The Australian Women’s Weekly. The white and gold I have shown before, but this time I’ve placed the card with the original advertising from 1953.

Hold the press! Shock news!! The date is 28th March 1855, and The Age (Melbourne) newspaper is outraged that one of its rivals, ‘The Argus’, seems to have made a cosy deal (i.e. bribery) with the Government to get sole access to the lastest news and boost its sales! An Argus reported is to be installed on the immigration ship Empire in place of the current immigration officer, wearing a government issued uniform!! Here is the evidence…..

My latest batch of Terries. (As the examples on the lids from the tubes they came in have faded, I’ve included unfaded buttons as well.) The next is another example of Beutron “Tub Buttons”; the same colour but a different size and pattern to the example from the post on the 12th January 2016.

I’d like to send a great big thank-you to all the kind people around Australia and NZ, as well as the odd far-flung person, who have helped build up my collection and knowledge of the world of Australian/New Zealand buttons.

Here’s a beautiful and mysterious glass kookaburra button. Who made this beautiful piece and when?